


One Way Or Another

by Bella_Monoxide



Series: One Way Or Another Universe [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dom!Daryl, M/M, Porn With Plot, S&M, Sub!Rick, Vanilla!flavoured coffee, slightly RPF (one character only)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-15
Updated: 2015-04-15
Packaged: 2018-03-23 03:05:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3752098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bella_Monoxide/pseuds/Bella_Monoxide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick is having a bad day and accidentally takes it out on somebody else. Now he has to deal with the consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When It Rains, It Pours

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RickylLover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RickylLover/gifts).



> Another prompt fill for the lovely RickylLover. I hope you like this one! I sure as hell had tons of fun writing it. Let me know what you think!  
> Big Thanks as always to my wonderful beta, pharmtechgirl71 - you rock!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick's bad day.

Mornings like these were the reason why Rick hated his job sometimes. Way too early. As simple as that. And, as luck would have it, he had hit the snooze button on his alarm one time too often, dozed off again, and as a result to his actions was now terribly late, wishing the day was over already and he could just go back to sleep.

Grumbling, he got up, hurried to get showered and dressed, then had the next problem heading his way. When he got into the kitchen to get a coffee going in a futile attempt to wake up completely, he had to realise his coffee can was empty except for a few crumbs. Several heartfelt curses later, Rick was in his car and en route to the town's sole coffee shop.

Since the only thing on his mind was a coffee to go, he nearly got into an accident on the way, too. Only because the other driver payed close attention, damage was narrowly avoided. Being flipped off by the guy did nothing to improve Rick's mood though, and he went into the shop in a worse temper then he woke up to.

He had to wait in line for a while, then the barrista appeared to be in a bad mood as well, and to top it off, prepared the wrong coffee for Rick. Completely out of time, he snatched it up anyway and made for the door, walking a little too fast, not noticing another person on the other side of said door, about to walk in for coffee as well.

The disaster was inevitable. His coffee went flying, vanilla aroma hit his nostrils, making him shudder, while the contents of his coffee cup hit the man he collided with, soaking his work clothes rather thoroughly.

But after one look into Rick's eyes, the other guy calmly went into the shop properly, grabbed a few paper towels to blot his clothes with, all the while looking Rick over, as if he was assessing him.

Rick pitched a fit at the guy's suggestion that he should at least pay for his coffee, since he drenched him in the stuff, forcing him to go home and change clothes before work, and making him late in the process. The guy listened to Rick.

Then, right in the middle of Rick's triade, he asked him for his number, effectivly shutting Rick up long enough to tell him that his name was Daryl, and that he will have Rick pay for his mishap one way or other, and now to hurry up and hand over his number to Daryl, or else.

Rick, caught completely off guard, rattled off his number, thinking that Daryl will forget it anyhow, and ran out of the shop again, only half listening to Daryl's quietly spoken "you'll hear from me" in passing.

* * *

Daryl's day had started rather pleasantly, seeing as he liked his job as a carpenter at a local company a lot. One of the reasons for this was, aside from the fact that he got to work with his hands, that his jobs were scattered all over the town, not in one and the same spot all the time.

He had found very early on in his working life that he needed a change of scenery more often than the general working guy. And he just loved being out in the fresh air, which he attributed to his growing up in a small town just like this, where he had to hunt a lot to bring food to the table. He still went out to hunt most weekends, for food and practice alike.

This weekend, though, he had planned to go out and visit one of his friends at his workplace – and to have a couple of beers in the process, too, of course. He was looking forward to a night out, even if he was not as fond of those as his older brother, Merle, who seldomly missed out on a night on the town when the weekend arrived.

Merle owned the local garage and had turned out to be a hard working, legitimate business man, but he had told anyone who would listen long enough that there was no fun in that if you did not go and spend some of that hard earned money.

Today, Daryl had woken up with enough time before he had to be at work, and therefore was in no particular hurry when he strolled from his motorcycle over to the coffee shop. He planned on having a chat with his buddy Gareth, who most often worked first shift, and grab a coffee while he was at it.

Thinking about how he had witnessed the stupid guy who nearly wreaked his car on his way down the street, fishtailing all over the place, he went to open the door – when it burst open, being pushed none too gently by Rick, a guy he had seen a couple times by now.

Since Rick happened to be a cop, that was not surprising; what was though, was the fact that Daryl Dixon had decided to try and catch that particular cop's special attention if there would ever be an opening for it.

He could not help but be intrigued by the guy's good looks – sturdy built, not too tall, chisled features, curly hair, and the most piercing gaze from a pair of crystal blue eyes he had ever seen. Not to mention the fact that Rick seemed to have been made for wearing a beard.

In Daryl's humble opinion, that beard only served to emphasise the perfect shape of his mouth. When he had first noticed this about Rick, he had had the hardest time restraining himself from grabbing him by the collar of his uniform shirt and kiss the living hell out of him.

What appealed to Daryl even more than Rick's looks was his good natured personality and his desire to help people, which, he assumed, was the reason he had picked this particular profession in the first place. A Rick that had the inbuilt urge to help people and aimed to please had been the mental image of many a fantasy Daryl had spun since he first saw Rick months ago.

But over time, he learned that Rick was not only straight, but happened to have lost the love of his life, who moved to Atlanta to live with her girlfriend, an attorney with her own law office. From what Daryl heard, Rick had been heartbroken over it, and had retreated from social life for the most part, no matter how much his best friend and fellow cop, Shane, tried to get him to go out again.

Thinking that his chances of starting anything with Rick where nearly void, Daryl tried to push the cop out of his mind, but never quite managed to.

Today, being faced with the living counterpart of his fantasies all out of a sudden, Daryl was stunned at first – and drenched in coffee seconds later, which, making it way worse even, stank of vanilla, out of all the flavours possible.

But what really flipped a switch inside of Daryl was the fact that Rick did not appear to be remorseful at all, on the contrary acted as if it was somehow Daryl's fault that Rick had been careless. Suddenly calm to his very core, Daryl threw all caution to the wind and made up a plan right there and then.

He would get Rick to pay back, no matter what.

* * *

Arriving at work much too late earned Rick another written warning, one of which he had already received the other week. Only one more, he thought to himself, and I will have to find another job whether I like it or not.

Had he still been flabbergasted before he got to work, thinking back to Daryl's behaviour in the coffee shop, he now spend the rest of his working day under a cloud of misery.

Talking to Shane during lunch break did nothing to improve his mood, as his friend told him about his new girlfriend, with whom he planned on spending a night out in Atlanta, going to a concert.

He told Rick that said girlfriend, whose name was Tara, had a best friend who happened to be as solo as Rick right now and would like to go on a double date soon. Rick pulled a face and started to tell Shane no, but his friend had enough.

"You know, you can't spend the rest of your life feeling betrayed. You need to go out and look around, who knows, you might actually find someone you like and want to be with, start a relationship again."

"Look, Shane," Rick started, "I know you mean well and it's real nice of you to try and help me out, but I really don't feel like..."

"Yeah yeah," Shane interrupted him, "same old, same old. Please say yes for once, it won't kill you! Besides, Kristina is actually a real nice woman, good looking too. Geez Rick, come on!"

Rick looked sullen and stopped talking, while Shane sighed deeply.

"Ok," he said after a while, "how about this. I'll make you a deal. You spend some time thinking about it, and I ask you again on Monday, huh, how's that sound?" And he looked expectantly at Rick, who was currently pushing the food around on his plate, too upset to eat.

"Alright," he caved after a while, "but no promises!"

"Yeah, I thought you might say that," Shane answered, with a small grin on his face. It might not be a big victory, but a victory nonetheless, he thought to himself. It really was time for Rick to socialise again.

Later on that day, close to the end of Rick's shift, his private cell phone rang in his pocket, and he got it out, looking at the caller ID, but no number or name appeared. Intrigued, Rick answered with a none too gentle bark of "Grimes," only to hear the dial tone after a second. Hanging up, thinking 'wrong number most likely', he soon forgot about it.

On the other side of town though, Daryl Dixon now knew for certain that the number Rick had given him was actually legit, enabling him to carry on as planned.


	2. A Whiskey With The Carpenter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A different kind of date.

Rick's week did not get much better. He did make it to work on time, got along well enough with his co-workers and spent time with Shane.

He even went over one afternoon of hanging out at Shane's house. It was there that Rick told Shane about his general discontentment, and he had to explain that it was not only is personal life that sucked, but his professional life as well.

Shane was dumbfounded, since up until then he had assumed that Rick was only feeling so low because of his girfriend debacle. "Man," he exclaimed incredulously, "and I thought you're still feeling so shitty cause you think you turned your love of a lifetime gay!"

"Shane," Rick answered exasperated, "you do have a way with words, you know... But no, it's not that, though I gotta admit I'm still feeling kinda insecure 'bout it. Lord knows, I don't even remotely feel like dating..." And he drifted off, looking into the distance.

"Well, maybe going on that double date will change your mind, huh? Anyways, what are you planning to do about your job situation? Damn, I always thought being a cop 's been your dream ever since, like!" And Shane shook his head in wonder.

They spent the evening debating Rick's job trouble without exactly getting anywhere, but when he finally got home, Rick felt at least better about it all. The next day found Rick in an even brighter mood since it was Friday and he had the weekend off.

At work he teased Shane a little about his night on the big town, but it was all in good fun. When their shift ended, Rick told him to have a great time and to tell Tara hi from him, then headed home for a shower and something to eat, when his cell phone notified him of an incoming text message.

* * *

Daryl had spent the week with work mostly, but had gotten on a shopping trip with his good friend Caesar on Thursday night. Merle only called him 'that weird fag', since it puzzled him to no end that Martinez, as his friends tended to call him, was not your walking punchline to every joke ever told about homosexual men personified.

He and his partner Sean were handsome men, yes – but they were also both muscled up, no-nonsense kind of guys with absolutely no feminine hipmoves or 'faggy' gesturing.

For Daryl, going shopping with Caesar was always a gain. Not just because his friend payed him a ton of compliments and made him try on clothes that really suited him, though; it was just plain fun, since the guy was genuinely goodnatured and had a lot of taste on top of that.

Shopping with him never got stressful at all, which was a big plus for Daryl who, though he did not exactly hate it, did not love it either.

This time though, Martinez teased him quite a bit after he found his suspicions concerning Daryl and a possible date confirmed. But since Caesar never got mean, Daryl let him have at it. After all, he had confided in his friend about being intrigued by Rick, and now that the cat was out of the bag, this was just Martinez' way of showing how happy he was for Daryl.

When they were done shopping, they had just enough time left to meet Caesar's partner Sean for coffee before the latter had to hurry off and teach classes in martial arts. As soon as Sean heard of Daryl's plans for Rick, he laughed heartily, then proceeded to say how handsome he thought Rick was, and congratulated Daryl on his good taste.

"Yeah yeah," Daryl gruffed, "Just don't tell Merle 'bout it, a'ight? You know he's still trying to get used to me liking guys better than girls..." Here he was interrupted by both boyfriends' snorting.

Then Sean said "Girls. Right. When did you ever really like girls? Was that before I was born?" And he faked to be thinking hard, looking off into the distance and scratching his stubbled jaw.

Daryl scoffed and proceeded "Anyhow, you know Merle still doesn't like cops, so will you two shut it, for the time being at least?"

Both Sean and Caesar agreed to that, since they did not want to jeopardise Daryl's somewhat strained relationship with his older brother. They got along fine enough, but Daryl's sexual orientation did not sit too well with the older Dixon.

When Friday came around, Daryl sent off a text to Rick, then prepared for the evening, including laying out his newly acquired tight black jeans and button down shirt with short sleeves that did not leave an inch of his muscled up arms to the imagination.

* * *

Rick looked at the display of his cell phone, thinking he must be hallucinating. Apparently, Daryl Dixon did memorise his number at the coffee shop after all – and had just sent him a text that made his blood boil with rage at Daryl's audacity. It was as straight to the point as the man himself and read:

Caesar's tonight. 8 pm. Don't be late. Daryl.

Rick spent the next half hour or so pacing the floor of his livingroom, alternating between thinking hard and cursing up a blue streak. Then, he had a sudden realisation that did nothing to soothe his rattled nerves; he felt intrigued by the text he had received. Wanted to find out the what and why behind it.

He went into the kitchen and got something cold to drink, then walked back into the livingroom, sitting down on the sofa to think. It was not like he had never heard of the Dixon brothers, as they were known at the station.

The older brother, Merle, had gotten into trouble quite a bit during his youth, mostly because of his jerk of a father, whose terrible parenting was only topped by his ability to produce one hell of a moonshine – and, later on, crystal meth.

After the trailer they had been living in went up in flames one day, consuming not only all of their possessions but also their parents, Merle and his younger brother Daryl had somehow pulled through and eventually made a good live for themselves as adults.

Both worked in respectable professions, and, aside from Merle starting a few barfights when he drank too much over the years, were living proof that they were better off without their parents. But Rick had never noticed much of the brothers in general, and he did know zip about the younger one in particular.

Maybe there is more to them than meets the eye, Rick thought to himself. Before he could even catch himself, thinking something so strange, his gaze went to the digits on his stereo system; it was already seven by then.

The hell with it, Rick thought, I will go and find out what the heck got into the younger Dixon. And with that he got up and headed for the shower.

After a rather long time spent under the hot stream, he got out, toweled himself off and went on to give his beard a trim. He had noticed that it had gotten to be a little wild looking. While he used his dry shaver to shorten his beard some, he thought about what he might wear and went through the content of his wardrobe mentally.

Getting out of the bathroom in just a towel, he went over and got some shirts out of his drawers, then proceeded to pull several pairs of trousers out of his wardrobe.

After some thinking and trying on several combinations, he finally decided on black khakis that were cut in a casual way, so they would be nice but not too formal for the occasion, and a dark blue shirt that, according to a sales woman, set off his eyes.

He smiled to himself, remembering how, when they had gotten out of the store, Shane had sworn that said woman had tried to flirt with Rick, but he had not noticed anything. Shaking his head at the memory, Rick proceeded to pull his final selection on.

He slipped into his shoes and was ready to head out, looking at his image in the mirror. Well, he thought to himself, it ain't too bad. And he silently sent a thank you to Shane, over there in Atlanta, enjoying a concert, who had pestered him about working out as an outlet for his frustrations long enough to make him cave in.

As a result, Rick filled out his shirt rather nicely – and his butt was not too bad, either, he thought, chuckling, as he locked up the house and headed over to his jeep.

* * *

If someone would have asked Daryl Dixon of his opinion on the subject, he would have had no choice but to agree. Thankfully though, no one did ask, because Daryl Dixon happened to be royally pissed off already, even though the evening had barely begun. His message to Rick had been crystal clear, and yet, the cop was nowhere to be seen.

Daryl tapped the floor with his boot clad foot as a feeble excuse for an outlet for his anger, when Rick walked into the bar, fifteen minutes late, cocky like he had every right to be that way – and looking hotter than hell.

Dammit, Daryl thought, that guy might just be the death of me, gritting his teeth in anger. He watched from the booth he was sitting in as Rick went to the bar, talked briefly to Martinez who was working behind it, and went over in the direction of Daryl's booth. That, of course, gave Daryl even more time to take in Rick's appearance.

Everything he had ever thought about the cop's good looks seemed to be amplified tonight – his built, great features and piercing blue eyes. When Rick reached his table and greeted him rather gruffly, sitting down opposite of Daryl, he did not hear a single word the cop had said. Hot damn, Daryl thought, that mouth simply isn't of this world.

He had noticed how Rick's freshly trimmed beard set off his plump, pink lips and had to give himself a rather rough mental shake to pull back into the here and now, trying desperately to remember how pissed off he was at the guy who had drenched him in vanilla(!)flavoured coffee a few days back.

He sent a glare over the table at Rick, who withered a little, looking away to the side and into the room, playing it off as checking out the scenery. But Daryl did not believe in that. Before he could call him out on it though, Martinez arrived at their table, bearing a tray, and proceeding to place a cup in front of Daryl with a florish.

"There you go, Dare," he told him, winking, "enjoy your coffee." And with that, Caesar turned away.

He knew Daryl for a ridiculously long time by now, and quite well, too; he was already looking forward to his next talk with him, where he would hopefully get all the juicy details of the evening. He could hardly wait, seeing as he also happened to know what got Daryl's motor running, and he smiled a rather devilish smile to himself as he walked behind the bar again.

* * *

While Caesar busied himself behind the bar and with his musings about Daryl's way of handling potential love interests, the air in the booth he just left a coffee at got real thick real fast, as Daryl and Rick stared daggers at each other over the tabletop.

Rick was still pissed off at Daryl's behaviour from the other day; and his summons via text message, whereas Daryl could not believe that Rick had ordered a coffee to ridicule him.

But even though he realised that none of his former boyfriends or accquaintances would have dared to do so, at the same time he noticed that he kind of liked that. For a moment he felt insecure, wondering if he should let Rick off the hook.

Unfortunately for himself though, Rick picked that exact moment to look Daryl right in the eye and tell him "There you go, sweetheart, a coffee for a coffee. You happy now?" He cocked an eyebrow and quirked a corner of his mouth in a mock smile, waiting for Daryl's response.

* * *

Over at the bar, Martinez currently served a man who had just walked in and was leaning at the bar casually, looking over at the booth Daryl and Rick were sitting in, glaring at each other.

When Caesar slid a shot glass up to the guy, he looked at him, tossed the whiskey in one gulp, put the glass back on the counter along with some money, and said "Looks pretty tense over there, huh? You expectin' any trouble tonight, 's worth hanging 'round for, you recon'?" He wiggled his eybrows at Martinez, whose expression got nearly comical now.

Caesar sighed, then answered "After that last shitstorm you caused, you are lucky enough to still be served here, and you know it. Why don't you do us both a favour and take your troublesome self elsewhere?"

"'Sides," a gruff voice chimed in from behind him, "aren't ya on probation for a little trouble you cooked up over there in Utah, huh? I'm sure that guy my brother's sitting there with will know all about that, since he's..."

"...a cop, yeah Merle, I know, thanks." The man spat at the older Dixon who had stepped up behind him while he talked to Caesar, and he turned around to face Merle with a unique glare of his own.

But since the older Dixon happened to be a tough guy himself, he was not fazed by that. He just stared back – and after a short moment, the guy just nodded at him, looked over his shoulder at Martinez and said "I'll see you some other time then." And with that, he walked out, got into a red truck and left.

"That guy. I swear..." Martinez said to Merle, looking a little exasperated, and Merle answered "Yeah, I know. And from what I hear around town, he is in the business again." After a moment of looking at each other in silent conversation, Merle told Caesar to give him a beer, and after he received it, he walked over to Daryl.

* * *

While Rick waited for a response from Daryl, he tried hard not to notice how different he looked tonight. So far, he had not paid any attention to either Dixon, his only information coming from his colleagues at the station, which hardly contained remarks on Daryl's outer appearance. His only reference therefore was the way Daryl had looked when they ran into each other, with Daryl wearing his work clothes.

The guy looks downright attractive, Rick thought, what with his unruly hair, banging body and a gaze... He drifted off, suddenly feeling weak in the knees. But before he could even begin to wonder why Daryl's looks appealed to him, the carpenter put the coffee aside and calmed visibly, right before Rick's eyes.

"You chucked away that chance the day we met at the coffee shop, and you know it. How about you drop the attitude right now, handsome?" And with that, Daryl folded his hands on the table in front of himself and looked calmly over at Rick, who shifted in his seat, getting uncomfortable because his cocky tactics did not work.

His half-hearted try to provoke the younger Dixon had failed, and he was at a loss as to how to proceed. When Rick looked down at his hands resting on the tabletop, Daryl was satisfied for the moment and turned around to signal Caesar, but found himself facing his brother instead, who approached their table right then.

"Hey there, lil' brother," Merle said in greeting, "and if that isn't Officer Friendly himself!"

Rick looked up at Merle, who clapped his shoulder in greeting, and carried on talking. "How's that jeep of yours, everything running as it should be?"

"Yes, thank you, Merle. You did a great job fixing it."

"Ahh, no need to rub that in, now, wasn't fishin' for compliments or anything there!" And Merle chuckled.

Thankfully for Daryl and Rick, one of Merle's buddys walked into the bar then and called out to the older Dixon to join him for a beer. Merle told Daryl to be good and nodded at Rick, turned and walked over to his friend. Together, they proceeded to the pool tables for a game.

Daryl looked at Rick, shaking his head, and said "That brother of mine, man. I swear, some days, he is just a pain..."

"Yeah, I hear he can be a handful, right?" Rick answered, looking at Daryl questioningly. Daryl just nodded. Martinez popped up like some hunky kind of a jack in a box then, looking slightly worried at Daryl, but only got a fractional shake of head as an answer. That was enough for Caesar though, who had worried the older Dixon might have suspected something.

"Well," he said, "since you two don't seem to be in the mood for coffee, how about something else? The usual for you, Daryl? And what about your fine officer friend here?" He looked at Rick, who bristled at the expression, and told Caesar to watch it – only to be answered with a lapidar "You would have to answer to my boyfriend if you got in trouble with me. And trust me, you don't wanna do that."

That being said, Martinez turned right back around, looked at Daryl, who said that yes, he would like the usual, and how about the same for Rick, who of course started to protest at that. But Martinez had already turned to walk back to the bar to prepare their drinks.

"Just run with it, a'ight? Geeez, you are wound up tight for some reason. Wanna talk about it?" Daryl asked Rick, who was about to blow up, feeling he was being patronised. But one look into Daryl's blue eyes told him the other guy was just genuinely concerned for him.


	3. Should I Stay Or Should I Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title sums it up.

After that, Rick and Daryl ended up having a rather nice evening with each other, talked about Rick's job for a while, then moved on to other topics, like Daryl's work and hobbies. Rick was intrigued when he heard that Daryl hunted almost every weekend, and asked him a lot of questions about that.

They consumed quite a few of the cocktails Martinez conjured up behind the bar, and Rick admitted that they tasted delicious. That was the moment when Daryl told him they were unleaded, too. "Why would you not drink at all?" Rick asked him incredulously.

But Daryl answered back that he had plans for the night that required him to stay sober, and he sent a gaze over the table that made clear Rick was not to ask questions about that.

Weirdly enough though, Rick could have sworn that the drinks did include lots of alcohol, because the further the evening proceeded, the more attractive Daryl got in Rick's opinion. In fact, he got so wrapped up in Daryl's eyes at one point, thinking how nicely the colour of his shirt enhanced them, that he did not even realise how Daryl held his hand for the briefest moment.

When he noticed a jolt spreading through his body, Daryl had already removed his hand again. Rick swallowed and stood up abruptly and excused himself to go to the bathroom, at a loss for what else to say.

While he was away, Daryl had another visitor. Sean had made it to the bar in the meantime and came over now to say hi and have a quick chat. Sitting down in the spot Rick had vacated, he looked over at Daryl, who was positively beaming.

"Going well then, I recon?" Sean said teasingly and smiled at Daryl in his unique way. Caesar always complained that he just could not find it in himself to say no to Sean when he smiled at him like that. Daryl simply answered him that yes, it was going well after a bumpy start.

"Yeah, I heard. Caesar had to threaten the cop with me? That right?" He looked amused.

"Well," Daryl said, "Rick was real tense at first." Looking at Sean, he told him in a warning tone "Whatever it is that you are thinking right now – don't say it, got it?"

"Why," Sean asked back, feigning innocence, "you punish me if I don't?"

"Pah. You wish." Daryl shook his head.

"What's up with all the unleaded drinks? You plannin' on getting somethin' later on..?" And Sean wiggled his eyebrows at Daryl suggestively. Daryl only rolled his eyes, thinking that his friends knew him far too well.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rick walked by the pool tables towards the back of the bar, and into the restrooms. Feeling that his pants had gotten a little too tight in the groin region, he went into the stall for more privacy.

The last thing he needed now was someone like Merle Dixon, popping into the loo, commenting on his taking a leak with that stiffened member of his, he grumbled to himself, while he did just that. Tucking everything back in, he focused on thinking about something other than Daryl, looking all handsome and whatnot.

After zipping up, he walked out and back to the booth he shared with Daryl – only to find a great looking guy in his spot, talking to Daryl, bordering on flirting. Even while he still wonderend about noticing another guy's attractiveness, he bristled and quickened his pace. Arriving back at the table, he stared down at the guy, trying to intimidate him.

Obviously though, it did not work, as the guy just looked back at him, then at Daryl, shrugging his shoulders. Daryl sighed audibly. Looking up at Rick, he said "Rick, this is Sean, the boyfriend Caesar warned you about. Please don't bite his head off, since Martinez and I are rather fond of him, a'ight?"

While it was obvious how hard it was for Daryl to hold back a big eyeroll as he said that, Sean got up in one smooth move, offered his hand to Rick in greeting, who, taken completely by surprise, shook it. Sean stepped back then, gesturing to the spot he had just vacated, saying "I'm in your seat."

Nodding at Daryl, he walked over to the bar, locking eyes with Martinez for the briefest of moments. Sean hung around for a while longer, throwing the occasional glance over at Daryl and Rick, who had picked up their talk, looking comfortable together.

During a lull, Caesar leaned over the bar, grabbed Sean by his shoulders and gave him a heated kiss, tongue and all. Sean closed his eyes in pure bliss, kissing right back with enthusiasm. A catcall from no other than Merle Dixon ended the PDA, but by now they were used to it.

Caesar asked Sean about his take on Daryl and Rick. "Hm," Sean said thoughtfully, "Daryl looks quite smitten, I'd say. Not sure about Rick, though. Mixed signals, don't you think..?" He looked off into the distance.

"Yeah," Martinez agreed, "But not surprising, since for all we know he is as straight as one of Daryl's precious bolts." That remark sent them both off into a fit of giggles. Sean had a last drink, hugged his boyfriend goodbye and waved over at Daryl and Rick, then went home.

* * *

Daryl was confused. He could not read Rick properly, since the signals he was sending out were all over the place. He looked at the personification of some of his finest fantasies, thinking. Rick did not notice it right away, but carried on talking about something amusing he had experienced in the line of duty, waving his hands around and smiling at Daryl, whose eyes began to glaze over at that.

"Daryl?" Rick asked, finally realising that the carpenter had stopped listening. "Are you feeling alright?"

Daryl pulled himself back into the conversation, smiling over at Rick. "Sorry for tuning out," he said. "I just..." Daryl lost it again, because Rick smiled at him in a way that Daryl could only describe as flirty. What the hell is the guy playing at, he asked himself incredulously.

Just when he was about to ask Rick just that, Martinez arrived at their table, bearing a tray with three glasses.

"Scoot over, will ya?" He told Daryl, who obliged. "Here, Partin' Glass." He placed one in front of each person, then picked his own up in a toast. "To old friends and new ones. Cheers!" With that, they all clinked their glasses and tossed their shots back.

"Closing for the night?" Daryl asked Caesar, while digging his wallet out of his pocket. "Yep, only you and two other people left, might as well head home to my hot boyfriend." Martinez answered, producing their tab and placing it in front of Daryl, who paid and put his wallet back into the pocket of his jacket.

Rick began to protest, but was simply drowned out by Caesar, talking over him as if he could not hear a word. "So, you and the fine officer here seem to have hit it off, am I right?" Daryl nodded, while Rick reluctantly agreed.

"Yep," Daryl said, smiling. "Rick and I might just end up heading home together." Martinez nodded as well, told them to be safe while he got up and went over to his other customers.

Rick started to throw a hissy fit, while Daryl sat opposite him, waiting patiently for the storm to pass. Rick, realising his outburst did not get him anywhere, shut up for a moment, still looking angry though.

"Are you finished now?" Daryl asked him, looking right into Rick's eyes.

Rick, taken aback, answered "yes."

"Good. Then we are leaving." And with that lapidary statement, Daryl got up, shrugged into his leather jacket, and looked down at Rick, who had not moved a muscle yet, looking up at Daryl in a daze.

"Rick. Get up, we are leaving." Daryl repeated, more slowly this time, waving a hand in front of Rick's face for good measure. Rick popped up, and walked after Daryl out of the bar, both men waving over at Caesar on their way out.

In the parking lot, Daryl suddenly grabbed Rick by the shirt and shoved him behind a truck, cursing under his breath. Rick, stuck between the truck and Daryl's hard body, held his breath for a moment, surprised by Daryl's sudden actions.

"Typical Merle," Daryl whispered, "making out in the cab of his truck like he's still a teenager," and with that, he nodded into the general direction for Rick to look at.

"Urgh," was all Rick could come up with, once he had layed eyes on the older Dixon and whoever he was with.

"Agreed." Daryl whispered in Rick's ear, which sent a tingling sensation through the sensitive nerves located there, causing Rick to gasp. Daryl turned a little, creating a more snug fit with Rick's body, but did not move away. He still held on to Rick, but moved his hands to his shoulders now, with an intensity that bordered on painful.

While Rick was still trying to process what just happened, Daryl locked eyes with him. For a minute, neither of them said a word. Rick thought he was still in shock, when a realisation hit him right between the eyes; the expression on the carpenter's face was one of pure longing, and it was directed at him, Rick Grimes, a guy just like Daryl himself.

Why did I not pick up on the fact that Daryl is gay before now, Rick wondered to himself, when he noticed that Daryl's lips were moving again. He decided to better tune back in to the conversation. "What did you say," he whispered. "I'm sorry, I zoned out for a second."

"I said," Daryl rasped in a low voice, "that you need to decide right now. Will you stay with me while I drive home to where your punishment awaits you, or will you go to your own home, all alone. What's it gonna be, Rick Grimes?" And with that, he let go of Rick and stepped away from him, turning around to head over to his own truck, leaving Rick to his confusion.

 


	4. Use Me...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ride home.

Daryl reached his truck, opened it and got inside, closed his door, and put the key into the ignition. On the outside, he appeared to be waiting patiently, but he felt completely different inside. His inner turmoil was in high gear, his longing for Rick nearly driving him insane.

Apparently, the evening did nothing to change his feelings; on the contrary, it only served to increase them. At the same time, he felt the urgent need to teach Rick a lesson he would not forget. Daryl felt torn, and he did not like that one bit.

Wanting someone so badly is a pain in the ass, he thought to himself, cursing under his breath.

Rick's ambivalent behaviour during their evening with each other did not help, either, since his signals had been all over the place – yet, when Daryl had him pinned against that truck mere minutes ago, he had felt his arousal as clearly as his own. Heard it, too. Rick's breath had caught in his throat, and the way he looked at Daryl had held a solid portion of longing.

But Daryl feared he might have misread the situation, blinded by his own need.

* * *

Rick stood, still leaning against the truck Daryl had pushed him up against, trying to think. But he felt so confused and did not know what to do. The sudden contact with Daryl's body had left him aroused, and that realisation led to another one – he had not felt that way since Lori had moved to Atlanta.

Boy, Rick thought, that was over a year ago. What the hell is wrong with me? And he shook his head. Sure, he had been jerking off every now and then, but it had been more of a neccessity than anything else.

He just was completely at a loss as to why he was suddenly feeling stimulated by a guy, since he had never been with one before, not even in his wildest fantasies. While thinking how hot Daryl's voice had sounded in his ear, he made a sudden decision.

FML is over, he thought to himself, I will do this or die trying! I need to change my life and I might as well start now.

And with that, he walked over to Daryl's truck, determination visible in his stride.

* * *

Daryl's fear that Rick might decide against him evaporated when the cop started to walk over to Daryl's truck. Feeling ridiculously relieved, he smiled to himself while he leaned over and opened the door for Rick. As soon as Rick was all buckled in, Daryl started the truck up and was on his way to the outskirts of town, where his small house stood close to the surrounding woods.

At first they drove in silence, each lost in his own thoughts. Rick speculated about what kind of punishment Daryl had in mind, but drew a total blank, whereas Daryl pondered the idea of feeling Rick out, just to be sure he stayed on the consensual side of things.

Daryl switched the radio on in a futile attempt to lighten up the mood – but the old Bill Withers song did nothing to soothe his nerves, and he switched it off again.

Rick looked over at Daryl, his gaze questioning. "You don't like that kind of music, huh? I think my friend Morgan has the record..." Rick looked out of the window again, thinking.

"Dunno," Daryl all but whispered, "like the lyrics to that one, though."

"What," Rick said, amused, "you mean 'if it feels this good gettin' used'..." "...'you gotta keep on usin' me – until you use me up.' Yeah, that's the one I meant." Daryl finished the line for him, matter of factly, and Rick gaped at him.

"Come on, Rick," Daryl said, exasperated, "you shoulda realised by now that I'm not exactly your garden-variety Vanilla kinda guy." Looking over at Rick, he only saw confusion on his handsome face.

Sighing, he explained. "Vanilla is what us hardcores call, well, have you at least heard the term 'flower sex' before?!" Rick could only nod in agreement, since his voice seemed to have taken an impromptu vacation. "Well," Daryl continued, "that is Vanilla."

"Daryl," Rick said after a while, "what exactly is on your mind?"

"Now Rick, where is the fun in telling you beforehand?" Daryl answered, a smile audible in his voice. When Rick did not answer, Daryl looked over at him again, noticing that the cop looked scared now. Daryl sighed loudly and pulled the truck over, switching it off.

While Rick was still trying to figure out what had happened, Daryl had unbuckled both their seatbelts, leant over, grabbed Rick's arms and put them over his head with force, using one hand to secure them there, while his other hand grabbed Rick's curly hair at the back of his neck, and pulled him into a searing hot kiss.

Daryl's arousal immediately went into overdrive, and he put everything he had ever felt for Rick into the kiss.

After the initial shock, Rick kissed him back with a passion he could not even begin to comprehend, bucking his upper body towards Daryl in an attempt to be as close to him as possible, straining against Daryl's hand, trying to get his hands free, so he could finally touch Daryl's banging body.

Of course, Daryl was having none of that, holding on even tighter, which only served to increase Rick's arousal. Their mutual moaning filled the cab, and the kiss went on for a long time, with Daryl biting Rick's lips, licking and sucking, even fucking his mouth with his tongue at one point, which had Rick close to fainting, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

When Daryl finally stopped, Rick groaned in frustration and tried to move with Daryl so he could kiss him just a little bit longer. But Daryl used his free hand to slap Rick's face none too gently, and when Rick opened his eyes to look at him in indignation, Daryl whispered to him, barely audible.

"That is but a taste of what awaits you if you are brave enough to get involved with me. Obviously," and here, Daryl looked at Rick's rock hard erection, clearly visible in his pants, with an expression that boardered on malice, "you did enjoy it so far. I suggest you quit the messing around."

And with that, Daryl got back into the driver's seat properly, buckled up, looked over at Rick, waiting for him to do the same, and proceeded to start the car and drive on after Rick had fastened his seatbelt, looking dazed.

They had been driving in silence for a while, each trying to collect himself, when Daryl cleared his throat. "You know, the reason why I didn't drink alcohol tonight has a lot to do with my preferences. In order to keep it ssc, it's neccessary to keep a level head." Daryl explained to Rick. "ssc stands for 'safe, sane and consensual', and drugs get in the way of that."

Rick said nothing, clearly thinking hard. Daryl moved on to another topic he wanted to clear up before they reached his home. "Are you always this ambivalent, or was that circumstantial? You know, like when I held your hand for a second, you clearly reacted strongly to that, for example..." Here he was interrupted by Rick, who all but hissed that he did not react like that.

Daryl rolled his eyes. "You know I tested the waters with you on purpose, right? And you did jump up to run off to the loo, sporting at least half an erection. I am not blind." Rick bristled, clearly on the verge of talking back.

"Rick, you can cut that shit out right now. It's just no use to stay in denial. You did flirt with me, even Martinez and Sean saw that. You looked at me a certain way, and when you returned from the loo, you behaved like my jealous boyfriend towards Sean, even."

"Daryl," Rick said, "I am at a loss. I feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants here..." And he looked out of the side window, no longer angry, but clearly thoughtful. Daryl let him be until they reached his home.

After he parked the truck and killed the engine, he unbuckled his seatbelt and turned around, facing Rick.

"Look," he said, "clearly you like me and what we did so far. And that's ok. Do you think you can stop denying now, 'cause it annoys the hell right out of me?" And with that, he turned back around, got out of the car, and walked over to the house.

When he had reached the front door, he heard the unmistakable sounds of Rick getting out of the car as well, and following him to the house.


	5. ... Up.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick had it coming - and Daryl had told him so.

Daryl unlocked the door to his house, then held it open for Rick to enter first, saying politely "after you." Rick walked in, and Daryl switched on the light to enable Rick to see where he is going, then shuts the door behind them.

"Bedroom's that way," Daryl announced, pointing in the general direction, while he shrugs off his jacket and hangs it on a hook next to the door. Rick gasps behind him, but Daryl pays him no mind. Instead, he just took Rick's hand matter-of-factly and walked him towards the bedroom, and the cop followed him in a daze.

Walking over the treshold, Rick took in the interior, which consisted of only the bare neccessities, like a bed, dresser, bedside table and a wardrobe. While looking over these items, Rick noticed the chains and handcuffs on the dresser, right next to an old fashioned candle holder and a small bottle, as well as the lube and condoms on the bedside table.

After a moment, his eyes moved upwards, looking at the wooden rafters that support the ceiling, and he noticed some ceiling hooks in them. Aside from these items though, the interior of Daryl's house looked like a somewhat typical bachelor pad. While Rick is still taking all this in, Daryl moved to the windows, pulled down the drapes and proceeded to the dresser, lighting the candle there.

He turned around when Rick asked him quietly if he had ever been with Sean. "Rick," Daryl exclaimed a little desperately – but one look at Rick told him that the guy just really wanted to know.

He walked up and pulled Rick into a hug, mumbling into his hair. "No, never. I mean, I like him a lot, and he is hot looking and all that. But he and Martinez have been together for years, and they really hit it off from the start. It was never on the table."

At that, he put a hand under Rick's stubbled chin to lift his head and kissed him softly on his full lips while he caressed his back, moving his hands up and down with soft, yet firm strokes. After a while, he pulled away and looked Rick in the eye. "Are you ready?" He asked.

Rick looked back at him for a full minute. An almost invisible nod is Daryl's only answer, but it is all he needs. "Walk towards the dresser, then." Daryl ordered, pointing at the spot. Rick walked over and waited for the next instruction, wordlessly wondering if he is out of his mind.

Losing no time, Daryl walked up to Rick and began to undress him, making quick work of all his clothes. In a matter of minutes, Rick is standing in front of Daryl, buck ass naked, blushing and feeling insecure. His head is dropping towards his chest – but is stopped by Daryl's fingers. "You are beautiful, Rick. Never forget that."

While Daryl walked over to the dresser, grabbing the chains and handcuffs and putting the small bottle into his pocket, he said "one more thing, though. If you should feel like pulling out during our session, you need to use a safeword. That way I will know that you're serious and I will stop immediately. Got it?"

Rick nodded. "Your ex-girlfriend, her name is Lori, right?" Another nod from Rick answered that. "Then 'Lori' will be your safeword, since it is highly unlikely that you will call me by her name. Any objections?" Rick answered him that, no, he had nothing to ad.

"Good," Daryl said, and went on to snap the handcuffs around Rick's wrists behind his back, then proceeded to tie them to a chain which he fixed to one of the ceiling hooks.

Looking at Rick standing like this in front of him aroused Daryl to no end, and he whispered "Man, you are sexy as hell like this...", grabbed Rick by the chin and kissed him so hard his lips damn nearly bruised. Rick moaned into Daryl's mouth, straining against his bindings.

Daryl moved behind Rick, using his still boot clad foot to kick Rick's feet apart, so he was standing more securely and more vulnurable at the same time. "You know you deserve to be punished, right?" Rick did not reply immediately, so Daryl whacked his ass with a resounding smack, making Rick gasp in surprise.

But he did not have time to think, since Daryl rained blows on Rick's behind in quick succession, reddening his tight butt at an alarming pace. After a few moments, Rick had stopped thinking, gritting his teeth in an attempt to hide his moans, but it was futile.

Daryl stopped the spanking and stepped right up behind Rick, pressing his clothed body against the cop's naked one, whispering in his ear. "You don't think this is it, right? Because, boy, you got another thing comin'." And with that, he licked Rick's ear while he grabbed one ass cheek and kneaded it.

Rick thought he might lose his mind soon – or had lost it already. One person can simply not feel so much all at once. This thought wafted through his muddled brain like a summer breeze, there one moment, gone in the next one, as he moaned in pure lust, all pretending long forgotten.

Suddenly, he felt a new sensation, and he bucked against his restraints. A soft chuckle hit his ears, along with a muttered "concentrate on the way it makes you feel, you might like it," as gentle hands pulled his cheeks apart, revealing his tight backentrance. A moment later, something cold and wet hit his ass crack and was swiftly massaged into his pucker by strong fingers.

When Rick felt one of those slip into his hole, he cried out, but Daryl was relentless in his probing, wiggling his finger around, making Rick squirm. Daryl added another finger while he grabbed Rick by his hair, pulling his head back, whispering into his ear. "Do you have any idea how much I want you right now?" Rick gave the tinest shake of his head.

"Like, I would get my cock out and fuck you so hard, you would feel it six ways from sunday." And at that, he hit a spot Rick never knew existed up until this day, and he heard himself crying out in pure bliss, while Daryl moaned in his ear, hot breath ghosting over the side of Rick's face, followed by Daryl's tongue.

Daryl simply could not help himself; Rick was just too hot to be legal. He pulled his fingers out of Rick, went over to the bedside table to wipe his hands with some kleenex, grabbed a particular bottle of lube and went back, standing right in front of Rick. He pulled a bandana out of his pocket, folded it and wound it around Rick's head.

With his eyesight taken away like this, Rick could only listen helplessly at the sounds of Daryl, undressing right in front of him. "Daryl," Rick whispered, just loud enough for Daryl to hear, "I wanna see ya."

He heard Daryl turning around and padding towards the bed, then returning to him a moment later. "I know," Daryl murmured, "but you are being punished, remember?" The soft sound of something falling to the ground could be heard, while Daryl kissed Rick tenderly, pressing both their bodies together for the briefest of moments.

When Daryl felt Rick's hard erection pushed up against his own pulsating cock, he had to remind himself of the even better thing he had planned for Rick, or he would have stayed like that, pressed up against a squirming, wanton Rick, until he came hard.

But as it were, Daryl loosened the chains, unhooked them, but left Rick in handcuffs. "Kneel down." Rick felt Daryl's hands on his shoulders, guiding him as he followed the command, feeling the softness of a pillow as his knees hit the ground. "Open your mouth for the punishment you were bound to receive the minute you talked back to me after your mishap at the coffee shop."

Rick tried to process this, failed, but opened his mouth nonetheless, too far gone at this point to even think what this might mean, as he felt the head of Daryl's cock pushing at his lips. As his lips parted, he heard Daryl opening some kind of container, then the sound of liquid being poured.

A second later, the god awful stench of vanilla hit his nostrils, as Daryl pushed his lubricated cock into Rick's mouth, ordering him to suck him off. Daryl held Rick by the back of his head for good measure, hindering him to pull away.

"Come on Rick," Daryl rasped in a husky voice laced with pure lust, "put that mouth to good use for once. You can start by giving me some head." And he began to fuck Rick's mouth with just the tip of his cock, moaning loudly at the feeling of those full lips tight around his shaft.

He grabbed the bandana and ripped it off Rick's face, telling him to look up – and nearly lost it at the sight of those blue eyes, pupils blown wide with lust, an eagerness to please fully visible on the beautiful face that had haunted him in his dreams so many times.

After a while, with his release almost painfully near, he thrust deeper into Rick's hot mouth, hitting the cop's throat and making him gag.

"Yeah," Daryl rasped, pumping furiously now, "that's what I thought when I smelled that coffee you drenched me with!" And with that, he shot his load down Rick's throat, leaving him with no choice but to swallow most of it down. He pulled out and turned around, walking out of the room, leaving Rick gasping and sputtering on the floor.

* * *

Daryl entered the bathroom and hopped into the shower. Afterwards, he re-entered the bedroom and dressed like he had all the time in the world, while Rick looked desperate for his own release, his rock-hard cock dripping pre cum all over the pillow he was kneeling on.

After a few minutes that felt like hours to Rick, Daryl turned to him. "Do you want to come now?"

The question caused Rick to cast his eyes down. "Yes, please, Daryl, let me come." He all but whispered, sounding just as distraught as he looks.

At that, Daryl stepped in front of Rick, put his hand down the front of his own pants and pulled his cock out, stroking it with a rough hand, giving the swollen head extra attention, smearing pre cum around it, and moaned in pure bliss.

Rick could not hold back the moan that escaped his own mouth at that sight, and Daryl opened his eyes while his hand let go of his cock, and he helped Rick into a standing position. "Do you trust me, Rick?"

He is answered with a definite nod.

"Good. I want to fuck you." With that, he lead Rick over to the bed and bent him over, grabbing his ass while one hand held on to Rick's hip to steady him. As soon as Rick is stable on his own feet, Daryl got lube and prepped Rick some more, fingering his asshole while jerking his own cock, dripping pre cum all over Rick's ass.

Just as Rick thought he could not take it anymore, Daryl ripped open a pack from the bedside table, rolled a condom on and pressed the head of his cock into Rick's hole. He began to fuck him at a painfully slow pace, while kneading his spanked ass cheeks, causing both pleasure and pain, all wrapped into one.

Rick bucked back against him, all dignity forgotten, seeking release, when he felt Daryl pull out, ripping the condom off and cum in thick spurts all over his ass. The moment Daryl pulled out though, he grabbed around Rick's hip and wrapped his hand around the erection awaiting him there, pumping furiously while his own release poured out of him, whispering into Rick's ear.

"Come for me Rick." The sound of Daryl's voice pulled Rick right over the edge, and he came like never before in his whole life, screaming Daryl's name to the ceiling in ecstasy.

When his orgasm finally ceded, Daryl pulled Rick flush with his own body, hugging him tight. A few minutes later, he helped Rick gently to the bathroom, put him into the shower for a quick wash and lead him back to the bedroom afterwards.

"Get into the bed on the other side," Daryl told him and motioned to the unstained side of the bed, "I'll just change the sheets real quick."

He walked to the dresser next, extinguished the candle and got into bed as well, turning to face Rick, who was utterly spent, barely able to keep his eyes open. Daryl held up his bedspread, pulled Rick over and into his arms, wrapping him into a tight hug. Kissing the top of his head, he told him to sleep, and Rick fell asleep quickly after, feeling safe in Daryl's embrace.

**Author's Note:**

> As you could probably tell, I really don't like anything vanilla. Urgh.  
> A word on Sean, I am not too keen on writing RPF (yet), but did not want to put Connor MacManus up instead. Also, I really wanted the established gay couple to be very manly. So there.
> 
> Please let me know what you think!


End file.
